The moment senior Hannah Owen walked in the door, she tossed her book bag on the floor and sighed. She had just gotten home from running eight miles at cross country practice, and she was exhausted. But all she could think about was the pile of homework she had to complete before going to bed.
“Homework stresses me out because I am in three AP and two honors classes, so if I’m not self-disciplined to get the things I need to get done by the deadlines, my grades will suffer,” Owen said. “I am always self conscious about getting things done on time.”
According to Owen, making time for homework and studying can often be difficult because of sports and other responsibilities.
“I am in sports all the time; I have practice until 5:30, and I do homework from 6 to 10:30 or 11,” Owen said. “But I make time and make flashcards for vocabulary and stay for tutoring when I can. I have had to stay for tutoring more than I ever have before.”
Senior counselor Anne Hafer, who previously taught world geography, has experience with helping students cope with stress on a daily basis. Although Owen said that participating on the cross country team adds to her stress, Hafer said studies show that exercise is the best way to relieve stress.
“I do understand that homework can stress students out, but it’s a good way for them to practice what they’ve learned,” Hafer said. “I think students get overly worried about things. There’s a small amount of stress that helps performance, then a small amount that makes them break down. That’s not a good thing.”
Stress can be increased when a student adds a part-time job or extracurricular activities. Family responsibilities also add stress. Any of these situations can make it more difficult for students to keep up with homework and, in turn, can cause grades to suffer.
“You can sail right through and not do the extra things you maybe should do, but I take the responsibility to do those things because in AP you really have to be self-disciplined to do those things and work harder and strive even further to do well and excel,” Owen said.
More ways to make homework more enjoyable are to incorporate snacks, listen to music, take short breaks and start with the hardest homework first.
According to the National Education Association, a student should only be assigned 10 minutes of homework per grade level so a freshman should be assigned 90 minutes and a senior should be assigned 120 minutes.
“I believe I have more homework because I am in AP Biology instead of regular biology,” Owen said. “This year I have had the most homework in AP Biology because it’s a lot of work on your own time. I have to go through the chapter and do a lot of work; it’s a lot of responsibility on the student.”
